The Enhanced Teddy Bear Packs a Punch!
Enhanced teddy bears are seriously strong!
With Piyu grown even bigger thanks to Random Enhancement cradled in her arms, Ji-yoon gave a polite bow and headed home.
“Bye-bye, see you later!”
So cute.
Meanwhile, Representative Hyun-ji, having watched her go, picked up her phone for a moment and placed a call somewhere.
“Heeey, Seo-yoon~ it's your Hyun-ji unni~. We were planning on an Extra Class extermination tomorrow, right?”
Seo-yoon? Ah, the boxing magical girl I enhanced at the very beginning.
“You've been feeling under the weather lately, haven't youuu~? And your arm's not in good shape eitheeer. So here's the thing — why don't you take tomorrow off and rest~...”
“Representative! I can still do more! It's only Extra Class, isn't it?!”
Wow, I can hear her clear through the phone. She must be pretty worked up.
“It's because it's only Extra Class that we can hand it to someone else, you seee.”
“No! I can still do it!”
At that, Representative Hyun-ji cut the conversation off with a crisp, unhurried voice — none of her usual drawl.
“Sometimes rest is necessary too. Ji-yoon will take care of the Extra Class, and you'll rest tomorrow. This isn't your Hyun-ji unni speaking — it's an order from Bullseye, Grade 1 magical girl.”
“Ji-yoon? Even if it's just Extra Class, a ten-year-old like her...!”
“I'll be right there beside her. There's something I want to see for myself.”
The words carried a charisma that hadn't been there before, and only then did the voice on the other end of the line fall quiet.
She's probably saying she understands.
...When it's time to get serious, she gets serious. She didn't make Grade 1 for nothing.
Apparently satisfied, Representative Hyun-ji slid right back into her laid-back, sly drawl.
“There we gooo~. Now take a nice rest, pick up a little hobby or somethingg~. All work and no play will wear a person down, you knowww.”
...Shouldn't you be the one getting some work done?
Hanging up, Representative Hyun-ji turned to Tokkaengi with that trademark unreadable smile of hers.
“All right, now that the kiddo's gone, it's time for the serious drinking session~. Tokkaengii, one nice vintage of Chardonnay and one of Pinot Noir, please~.”
...Pinot Noir? Chardonnay? What's that supposed to be?
Tokkaengi, clearly used to this, heaved a deep sigh before replying.
“Understood. Shall I prepare snacks as usual as well?”
“Yeeah~ a cheese platter~. Yeon-sol will be eating too, so make it a set for twoo~”
“Yes, yes. A mascot is nothing but a workhorse, after all. Honestly, Bullseye must be the only employer in existence who treats a mascot like this.”
Representative Hyun-ji flinched, but recovered quickly and answered breezily.
“But Yeon-sol is riiiight here~”
“I'm saying it so you'll hear it. That's the only way you might — might — reflect on yourself, Bullseye.”
“......”
...Okay, that's pretty toxic, but honestly, it's kind of satisfying to watch, too.
Before long, a bottle of white wine and a bottle of red appeared on the table between us, along with a plate of cheese in all sorts of shapes. Representative Hyun-ji opened the cork with practiced hands, poured herself some red, and began to drink.
“Crisp yet delicate, with a subtle fragrance that lingers on the finish.”
Must be nice. Should I try a glass too?
Hm... it's just... different, I guess? Not exactly the kind of thing that would wring a bored, pretentious little compliment like that out of someone.
“Tastes good.”
At my terse reply, Representative Hyun-ji snorted and started needling me again.
“This is why they call you a lightweiiight~.”
I fired back in kind.
“I'm sorry the only things I've ever drunk are soju and beer. But I'll be taking plenty more apart going forward. I can learn. Starting now.”
“Ooh, big ambitions there.”
After that bit of idle chatter, Representative Hyun-ji refilled her glass and offered some genuine praise.
“You've worked harrrd. Drink up and rest tonight, okayyy? You were enhancing things all day yesterday, after all.”
“...Enhancing two people in a single day left my body heavy and my head spinning, you know.”
Representative Hyun-ji answered with a sly grin, raising her glass in a toast.
“Well, yeaaah. Who knows? That might be the current limit of your magic power. Keep at it, though, and it could grow tooo~.”
“If my magic power grows, you're just planning to work me even harder, aren't you?”
“Ahaha, you got me thereee.”
She admitted it with a shameless chuckle.
“Well, it's just that I want you to stay at this office for a long, looong time. You're our lucky charm, after alll.”
“Ugh, that's kind of gross...”
At my answer, Representative Hyun-ji burst out laughing, then mulled something over for a moment before changing the subject.
“Come to think of it, you have no idea just how much stronger a wand gets after you enhance it, do youuu?”
Oh. Right.
Even after enhancing things, I honestly had no way of gauging how much stronger the wands had become.
It had only been about two weeks since I'd awakened as a magical girl, and I'd spent most of that time holed up in my room living like an unemployed shut-in — so naturally, I'd never learned how to analyze any of it.
Representative Hyun-ji seemed to know, though.
“...Right. I just eyeball it from how things react.”
“Hmm... I could teach you, sureee.”
“How long would it take to learn?”
“Mmm... hard to sayyy? I can teach you, it's just... for this kind of thing, experience matters more than knowledge, you knowww.”
She meant I'd need to meet lots of different magical girls and face plenty of enemies? That sounded like it would take ages.
“Doesn't sound like a very good method to me.”
Hyun-ji just laughed, then made a different offer.
“Then what about your mascot, hmmm...? You could just ask for that kind of function to be built in. This way's more precise, tooo.”
“There's a function like that?”
“Yeeah. Mascots were originally made to read magic-wavelength patterns and support their magical girls, you seee. So it should be able to read your wand's magic power and compare it for you, tooo.”
Isn't that basically a cheat code?
“That sounds much better. I'll take it.”
At which point Representative Hyun-ji put on her most shifty smile and said:
“Great, then shall we call the upfront payment for Seo-yoon, Ji-yoon, and Soo-bin's enhancements settled with that, hmmm~?”
“What?! Are mascots that expensive?!”
“They're high-performance magic dolls, you knowww. And since they're made exclusively for magical girls, they're all handmade, seee.”
“...No discount? I literally have no income right now.”
“No~pe. And I never lie about prices, eitheeer~.”
Ugh, I'm never going to survive at this rate.
“...Then I want more alcohol in exchange.”
“Every time you call me unni, I'll pour you someee~.”
Agh, come on!
The next day, me, Representative Hyun-ji, and Ji-yoon were waiting in a back alley for the apparition to appear. Hyun-ji waited with a relaxed expression, drink bottle in hand, while Ji-yoon stood transformed in her fluttery magical girl outfit, staring anxiously at the ground.
She was clutching Piyu desperately against her chest, as if the bear were the one safe harbor in her heart.
Well, fair enough. She'd heard what kind of apparition we'd be facing today, so no wonder she was scared.
The forecasted apparition was a hostile, Extra Class entity known as the Keyboard Troll. According to our research, it was a creature born from the anger of players accusing each other of being 'trolls' mid-game — rage that had reacted with magic power and clumped together into a physical form.
“...I never expected something like that to manifest as an apparition.”
It was a little absurd, honestly. The act of people fighting with each other turning into a real monster.
At my snort, Representative Hyun-ji shrugged and corrected my misconception.
“Aww, just because it was born from something petty doesn't mean you can look down on it~. Its strength is terrifyiiing — when it slams that keyboard it's carrying into the ground, it can crack the concretee~. Sometimes it even shows up as a Scene Stealer Class, you knowuu.”
...A troll wielding a keyboard instead of a cudgel. Hard to picture, honestly.
“By the way — if we know an apparition is going to appear, couldn't we just attack it before it fully manifests?”
I tossed out the idle question to break the tension, and Representative Hyun-ji chuckled.
“You can, technicallyy, but back then the magic density is low, so attacks barely land — it's actually just a waste of magic powerrr. Best to strike right after it's fully manifested, you seee.”
Well, there is that old joke that hitting a magical girl while she's transforming counts as cheating, right?
I guess the same rules apply to apparitions, more or less.
We were still chatting when the scenery in front of us warped, and a hulking monster slowly began to take shape.
Seconds later, blue skin, menacing underbites, and a bulk that looked at least twice my size filled the back alley wall to wall.
Most threatening of all was the keyboard — looking three times larger than a normal one — clenched in its fists like a club.
“S-scarey...”
Ji-yoon hugged Piyu tighter in fright, and frankly, I was rattled too — it was bigger than I'd expected.
“Ji-yoon is supposed to take that down...? I know she's beaten an Extra Class before, but this is a lot. Maybe we should add more enhancement, right now—!”
“It's fiiiine. I believe in Ji-yoon. And I believe in Piyu.”
But Representative Hyun-ji just watched the battle lazily, bottle still in hand.
Though at some point — when had she drawn it? — an arrow was nestled between the fingers of her other hand, poised as if it could be nocked to the longbow on her back and loosed at any moment.
...So she's not just going to stand by and watch, after all.
Right as she said it, the troll let out a shriek and began lumbering toward us.
And in that instant — maybe it was Representative Hyun-ji's encouragement — Ji-yoon's eyes hardened, just a little, and she set Piyu down.
“Piyu. Go punish that bad monster.”
The moment she let go, Piyu began to move as if it were a living creature. Its size grew a little as well, until it stood about even with Ji-yoon's chest.
A doll that comes alive and fights — so that's Ji-yoon's unique ability?
Catching my puzzled look, Representative Hyun-ji nodded.
“Best friend, would you call it? That's Ji-yoon's unique ability. Whatever doll she owns comes alive on its own and fights alongside her.”
...Well, Piyu is Ji-yoon's best friend, after all.
Meanwhile, the troll swung its keyboard down at Ji-yoon — and Piyu leapt into the air, taking the blow onto its own body in her place.
It must have been a vicious impact, yet Piyu's only damage was a few loose stitches on its shoulder.
It blocked that? I'd kept the defense enhancement minimal, but its sheer durability is impressive on its own.
“Don't... you bully Piyu!”
In that moment, Ji-yoon's tiny palm faced the troll, and two orbs of blue magic fired from her hand.
The troll panicked and tried to block the orbs with its keyboard — but thanks to Piyu clinging to it, the motion came a beat too slow.
The magic orbs slammed into the troll's chest, and the impact threw its upper body sharply backward.
Piyu, meanwhile, still hanging off the keyboard, was flung loose by its own momentum and crashed into the wall.
The impact was brutal, and Piyu's side split slightly from it, stuffing peeking out.
“Piyu!”
...That looks dangerous. Shouldn't I step in and help?
But Representative Hyun-ji still watched the fight with her bottle in hand, utterly at ease. If anything, she just grinned slyly and offered Ji-yoon a piece of advice.
“Go give it a huuug~. You said you wanted to play with Piyu all day, didn't yooou~.”
Hearing that, Ji-yoon nodded hard and shouted.
“Piyu! Come here! I'll hug you!”
At her cry, the two of them rushed toward each other, and at last Ji-yoon wrapped Piyu in a tight embrace.
Blue magic power flowed into Piyu, and its split, torn wounds began to mend as if by magic.
Stitches rewove themselves as though time were rewinding, and the escaped stuffing drew back in, filling the gaps.
Incredible regeneration.
“Wow, Piyu, you came back!”
Roaaar!
The keyboard-wielding troll, having recovered its senses, shrieked again and came charging at Piyu.
“Piyu! I'll help you!”
Ji-yoon stretched out her hand, and as if she'd cast a buff spell, a golden aura began to rise from Piyu's body.
At the same moment, the keyboard came crashing down on Piyu—
CRASH! A cloud of dust exploded upward.
But feeling no impact of a hit, the troll tilted its head in confusion — and in that instant, Piyu appeared.
Apart from its left leg being slightly torn, Piyu was perfectly fine.
Better than fine: glowing gold, Piyu had seized the keyboard in a firm grip — along with the troll's hand holding it.
With a panicked expression, the troll grabbed at Piyu with its free hand, trying to pry it off.
But even as its stitches burst and stuffing spilled out, Piyu refused, absolutely refused, to let go.
“I'll finish it! Piyu!”
Ji-yoon stretched out her hand once more, and two more magic orbs shot out, same as before.
The troll tried to block them with its empty hand — but in that instant, Piyu grabbed the very hand that had been trying to peel it off, throwing off the motion.
The orbs struck the troll square in the head, and it screamed and pitched forward, face-first into the ground.
Piyu released its grip, clambered up onto the creature's back—
—and drove a tiny stuffed fist straight down into the back of its skull.
Perhaps that was the finishing blow, because the troll's body began to scatter like dust.
Before long, the only thing left where it had stood was the massive keyboard it had swung around, the sole proof that a battle had taken place here at all.
Ji-yoon ran back to Piyu and hugged it tight, as if to say, you worked so hard.
Just like before, a warm blanket of magic power settled over Piyu's body, and its burst stitches and damaged spots recovered, smooth and clean.
“Piyu! You did so good! Now even when you get hurt, you come right back!”
Still hugging Piyu tight and rubbing her own cheek against it, Ji-yoon went on.
“I'm so happy I get to play with you for a long, long time!”
...You both earned it. Good work, honestly.
Meanwhile, Representative Hyun-ji — who had apparently been sipping her drink this whole time — came over to me and rested a hand on my shoulder too.
“Good work to you as welll~.”
“...I hardly did anything. A stuffed bear would've been fine, really — I only went with Piyu for Ji-yoon's emotional wellbeing.”
That much was true. A stuffed bear probably would have fought even better.
But... if what matters is that she's happier this way, isn't that all that counts?
“Thaaat's right. That's all that matters, you seee.”
The warmth of her hand seeped through to my shoulder.
Normally I'd have told her to get off immediately... but tch, I wasn't as annoyed today for some reason, so I guess I'd let it slide.
And so, watching Ji-yoon beam with a smile as bright as could be, today's extermination came to an end.
After Ji-yoon's fight, I spent the next two days quietly at Representative Hyun-ji's place.
Magical girls wanting to request enhancements contacted her, but every single request was turned down with the same excuse: 'Yeon-sol isn't ready yeeet~.'
...Isn't that a bit overprotective? I need to make money too, you know.
Don't get me wrong, the sweet alcohol she kept supplying was great — but I want to earn money and make it big too! I hate going on broadcasts, so fleecing magical girls for their money is the whole plan!
So I raised this grievance over drinks.
“I didn't come here to be treated like a kid. My magic power's fully recovered, so why do you keep turning everyone down?”
Representative Hyun-ji just smiled with her eyes and said:
“Mmmm, that's a secreeeet~. Just hold out two more dayyyys~.”
What on earth is supposed to arrive in two days?
...And then, two days later, I tore open a delivery box and briefly lost the ability to speak.
“......”
Lying neatly inside the box was a small girl with silver twin-tails and blue eyes.
Her face shape, her eye contours — everything was a perfect match for mine. Unfamiliar yet agonizingly familiar: my own face, staring right back at me.
The doll looked up at me, unblinking.
“A pleasure to meet you, Master. As your mascot, I shall devote myself to your service with the utmost care.”
...Wait. Don't tell me she blocked every enhancement request for two days waiting for this?
No. That's not the problem here!
“...Hey! Im Hyun-ji!! Why does it have to be MY face of all things!!”